BSB: Beauty news, makeup swatches and pictures, nail polish articles, makeup tutorials, product reviews, and how-to's from a MAC-trained makeup artist.

Loving the shimmer and shine of Summer weather! My NOTD...

Gorgeous & Gone: OPI Blue Lagoon (a blue holographic nail polish)

Every now and again I allow myself to use one of my discontinued or older limited edition nail polishes. The rest of the time they sit on the shrine and I light candles around them.

One of my favorites is OPI's gorgeous mermaid scale shade of blue with the lightest touch of teal: Blue Moon Lagoon.

It's a bit thick and gloppy, but then...my bottle is old and half-empty. It may be time to seek out a few back-ups.

I hope you enjoy these swatches and the video below, which shows how different this polish can look in the light and the shade!

Do you have any favorite discontinued polishes? Let me know in the comments! I've gotta go relight the shrine's incense burner...

 

The Nail Ninja is feeling jolly.

Well, as jolly as The Ninja ever gets, that is, which isn't saying much. She did, however, pull out a nice glowy rose gold shade with tons of glass-speck reflects. It's called Glow, and it's one of OPI's Designer Series shades (read: a bit more sparkly and a few bucks more pricey).

Gorgeous.
Approprite for any holiday festivities.
Get it.

Five Things | 11.8.10

1. As much as The Nail Ninja dislikes the crackle finish top coat that's coming out with the Katy Perry - OPI collaboration, she may still buy from the collection. The pink glitter, Teenage Dream, and the "sultry silver", Not Like the Movies, have potential.
   
   
2. The new La Prairie Life Threads scents are named after precious gems: Emerald, Ruby, and Sapphire. I wonder if the lilac in Emerald is discernible and if the whole thing is just too floral?
   
   
3. The Clarins holiday '10 collection, Barocco, looks so pretty! I am so into golds right now, which is weird for me, but this collection will let me take that and run with it! And a deep purple Rouge Prodige lipstick in a limied edition case with a lovely scroll?! I'm dying over here...
   
   
4. Illasmasqua now takes Paypal. More major brands should take their lead.
   
   
5. I'm having a lot of fun following Vintage Beauty, a new blog that is about, well, vintage makeup. Liz, who comments here sometimes, had a box of the stuff tucked away and recently rediscovered it, and now she's sharing it piece by piece. If you were a makeup wearer in the 80's, this site will be a kick for you!

The Nail Ninja: Quick Fail Nail plus The Ninja makes a friend! (Zoya Anaka + OPI Mad as a Hatter)

This post title is, in part, a nod to MizzChievous, who posted about "Fall Nails" earlier today. Sadly, to The Ninja's eyes (and several others, according to the FB comments) it said "Fail Nails".

While this mani of The Ninja's isn't a Fall deal, it's surely a Fail. Well, at least the pictures were...

 

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What you see was an attempt to cheer up using one of The Ninja's absolute favorite nail polishes of all times: Zoya Anaka (previously reviewed here). This happy raspberry is sunshine in a bottle (only... not yellow. or hot. well...whatever!).

The Ninja wanted to add another favorite into the mix: OPI Mad as a Hatter. She's sure most of you are familiar with it, but for those who aren't (hi, Mom & Dad!), it's a mardi gras-colored glitter bomb.

So, The Ninja debated whether or not to do an accent nail with MaaH or do French tips* with it. The latter won the dubious honors.

Aside from the craptastic lighting, it certainly did what it was intended to do: looked cheery. The execution wasn't great, because The Ninja had never done this with MaaH before and had trouble finding the right balance with it on just the tips.

What do you think?

 

PS: Here's the "made a friend" part of the story...

 

Dropping off Little Ninja at school, this little fella was spotted nursing a wounded wing in the parking lot. He recovered on The Ninja's hand, then was placed on a bush. Then he immediately took off, a little wobbly but not too much the worse for wear, towards the back of a field.

  _{*With apologies to classic and classy French women who, The Ninja is certain, would sooner do this manicure than jump off of the Eiffel Tower.}

How to have less ugly feet for Summer

All righty, ya'll. It's time to talk about the elephant in the room: busted feet.

It's summer. You shouldn't be wearing boots or kneesocks on the regular. It's time to be brave and bare your soles.

For the purpose of this post, I've qualified Feet into four categories according to Their Level of Busted-ness^TM.

Level 1: Princess Feet (as smooth as the day you were born)
Level 2: Just Feet (maybe a tad rough in the heel area, but not too bad)
Level 3: Jacked Up (pretty damn bad, but potentially salvageable)
Level 4: Wrecked (most of the people in this category think they can't be helped and just skipped to another blog, shaking in fear and self-loathing)

A quick note to Level 1's: Maybe you're blessed with those baby soft feet that never look bad. Maybe you've got a standing appointment with a fabulous pedicure-ist. If you are one of these types, you're excused. Go on and read some of the pithy and genius things I've previously written. This post is for the rest of us.

To read about how to fix your situation, keep reading.

DISCLAIMER: I'm not a podiatrist, so none of this should be considered medical advice. If you are in the "Wrecked" category of Feet, you may want to consider seeing a podiatrist or dermatologist or exorcist or some other kind of professional who can better advise you.

OPI Designer Series, Fall '09: Glow

Sadly there is a downside to being The Nail Ninja. What could possibly be negative about being a World Famous Mysterious Character with sensationally sexy nails?

Oh, you won't want to hear it. It's too painful. Too damn sad to talk about!

Certainly not depressing is this amazing OPI DS polish, Glow. They call it "rose gold with diamond dust" and The Ninja calls it "copper with tiny little prisms of rainbow-goodness". Po-tay-to, Pa-tah-to.

See some more pictures full of amazingness  and read the review by reading further. And be sure to stay tuned to see the other DS polish released in Fall '09: Mystery (it's a purple!).

Shrek- the polish?

It's called the Shrek Forever After collection, and it looks really cool. Don't you think?

• Funky Donkey - mid-tone creamy purple
• What's With the Cattitude? - light blue
• Rumple's Wiggin - soft lilac / purple
• Shrek The Who Are You? - Shrek green!
• Ogre-the-Top Blue - mid-tone blue
• Fiercely Fiona - sunny yellow

More info to follow when The Ninja gets it. For now, she's thinkin' Funky Dunky, Rumple's Wiggin, an Fiercely Fiona look like likely targets. What do you think?

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Alice in Wonderland seen through OPI's eyes... and through the eyes of Michelle Mismas!

At the end of October, The Ninja (and the rest of the blogosphere) reported that OPI would be creating a collection to revel in the hullabaloo that is Tim Burton's Disney bonanza, Alice in Wonderland. Well, the time to purchase said collection is drawing neigh, and we've seen some swatches (!) and even some frankens* inspired by the Alice in Wonderland story.

*frankens = a homemade polish created by mixing other nail polishes and/or added ingredients like glitter or loose pigments; as in "frankenstein".

Let's review with our pictures of the collection, which includes a red creme, a red shimmer, and two glitters (one a blue, and the other a black-based multi-hued glitter):

Off with Her Red! – A glowing, empowering hot red
The Red Queen: Cruel ruler of Underland, she cuts off the heads of those who disagree with her. She would rather be feared than loved.

Absolutely Alice - An absolutely amazing blue glitter
Alice Kingsley: Beautiful but slightly off-kilter, sees the world differently than most. In the Rabbit Hole, she seeks to write her own destiny.

Mad as a Hatter – A madly marvelous black-multi glitter
The Mad Hatter: Formerly the White Queen’s hatter. Now, he is part of the Underland Resistance and driven to madness by guilt.

Thanks So Muchness! - For this ”much-have” red shimmer
And lastly…; As if the tale was not adventurous enough, one more shade to color your own Underland over and over.

Those pics looked tempting enough, but then The Ninja spotted these swatches by Michelle Mismas, of All Lacquered Up:

Images are property of and courtesy of All Lacquered Up.
Please visit her site for more swatches and her review!

As The Ninja is currently obsessed with two things (black glitter and white shimmer/glitter), clearly she will be snapping up Mad as a Hatter, which is basically hella sparkly and gorgeous! Like Michelle, The Ninja was completely underwhelmed with Absolutely Alice when viewing the promos, but the swatches make this polish another must-have! As for the reds, while pretty, The Ninja is gonna skip 'em, due to the sheer number of reds in her stash that don't get worn!

But swatching these isn't all that Michelle has been doing lately. She's a busy little beaver and was so inspired by the Alice idea that she thought to create a polish based on the Cheshire Cat! Take a little lookie:

Images are property of and courtesy of All Lacquered Up.
See more and learn how to create this polish yourself here!

OPI Designer Series - Coronation

The Ninja loves holos. That is all.

OPI DS Coronation

Description: Multi-sized silver holographic sparkle.

Application: This is two coats, and they glided on beautifully. It's very smooth - not at all chunky, though at times it looks like a glitter.

Wear: Excellent.

Thoughts: LOVE! Not exactly like a "typical" holo polish due to the not-uniform glitter.  It's pretty inside, but take it under the light or outside and it really flashes!

 

 

PS: This polish may make The Ninja nostalgic for her college days, when...
let's just say she may have had hobbies that made holograms extra cool.

Ahem.

OPI - Suzi Skis in the Pyrenees (from Colección de España)

Here Again... Aragon Tomorrow

Discover this dark emerald before it says adios!

Notes: Please ignore the shoddy application - this was a quick swatch!
The shade is very dark, and in most lights reads as black.
The thumb is one coat, to show that it's actually green, but
that's the only way The Ninja could really tell unless in direct sunlight!

This product was purchased by the author

OPI - Suzi Skis in the Pyrenees (from Colección de España)

Suzi Skis in the Pyrenees

Our color “mogul” loves this deep blue-grey

Notes: The Ninja wanted to love this, but it was just too dark to be discernibly blue-grey.
It definitely appeared blue, but The Ninja was hoping for more smokiness.

PS: Pardon the nartsy application and polish on the cuticles.
This was a quickie-swatch!

This product was purchased by the author

Rockin' it old school style with a polish from OPI's India collection

OK, so OPI's India collection is only from last Spring. That's hardly "old", but still...

Here's my current mani:

Color: A blue-based hot pink cream. Is it totally unique? No, but it's still a great bright pink! For those of you familiar with the culture, this color will be familiar - it shows up in quite a few of the saris I've seen. It's so fun, flirty, feminine and strong... just like the Indian women I know!

Application: Smooth and silky! Opaque in two thin coats, as seen above. Very easy to use, with no cuticle drag.

Wear: Wears well (doesn't chip any quicker than most, better than many).

What I used: Base coat - NailTek Foundation I followed by Orly Bonder; two thin coats of color; Creative Super Shiny followed by Seche Vite as top coats.

Suggested uses: Accessorize a spunky sundress; brighten a neutral outfit; as a fun and sassy pedi that sets off those crazy flip flops with the big flower on top. A great "bold" look without being over-the-top - perfect for those who tend to stay more neutral but want to spice things up. I like contrast, so with this on my tips, I have an urge to put China Glaze's For Audrey (a sexy Tiffany blue) on my toes! Or pair with a softer pink, a deep blue, or for true Indian flava try a gold!

And just for funsies, here are the promo pics from this collection. I loved these!

What's on your nails today?

This post originally ran on Beauty School Blog

This product was purchased by the author

In which The Ninja added to her collection of brown polishes

Brown. Shimmery, dynamic, stunning BROWN. 

Here's a shot in which it looks like coffee. Deep, dark espresso:

But take a look at what it does in various lights!

 

 

 

It's a gorgeous, radiant bronzey-brown. OPI Espresso Your Style. Nothing else need be said but: NINJA APPROVED!

Cult Classic: OPI - My Private Jet

You've seen it before, but not on The Ninja! Presenting OPI's My Private Jet, a ....

SCREECH!

Stop right there!

There's an issue with this polish, as many nail junkies know. Here's the deal: My Private Jet came out, people loved it. OPI decided to discontinue it. It was rereleased - but it just wasn't the same. And now there are theories that there are as many as 4 versions of this polish out there. FOUR!

OPI, pull it together.

The Ninja's version is probably the newest - it's a dark brown-tinged-with-black with itsy-bitsy microglitter. (yes - usually "itsy-bitsy" followed by "microglitter" would be redundant, but this really is very small!) Said microglitter is many different colors, which gives this polish a great shine and a lot of dimension!

Here's the deal, though: it's not the original. This polish, when it first came out, was a graphite-nearly-black polish chock-full of amazing holographic yumminess. So, while the current manifestation is a very pretty color, it's not "BUY 3 BACKUPS" pretty (and the original was, to hear the tale told).

The Ninja's version looks a bit graphite-black in these pictures, but in person and in the bottle it certainly leans brown. And it is by no means a holographic polish.

 

 

 

The Ninja will allow you to compare her My Private Jet with some pictures of other versions:

THE NINJA'S VERSION:

Diamond in the Rough's version:



Gettin' Nailed's version:



The amazing Spoiled Pretty has a version:



Rural Glamor's version:

In which the brown polish had a purple sister!

For those of you not hanging by The Ninja's every word, she shall briefly recap: She fell in love with a brown polish a few days ago.

The Ninja is already bored with this recap, so go read more here.

The Ninja is already cheating on that polish with her sister, a purple flaky glitter called Merry Midnight, also from OPI's Holiday '09 collection, Holiday Wishes.

Gorgeous, midtone plummy purple goodness with tiny little shimmery glitter and larger flaky chunks of red/berry opalescence. There's not much more to be said, so take a look:

Important to see it in the light, so now with flash on:

 

The Ninja knows: SHUT UP! Right!?

By the way, what you're looking at is two coats over a base coat and under Seche Vite. The wear is excellent, though as is typical Seche Vite pulls a little at the tip but shrinkage isn't as bad as with some other polishes.

Monday Musing | 11. 09.09: Ever find similar colors in completely different products?

Have you ever looked at a few of your products and realized how similar in tone/shade they are, even if they are different types of products or even from completely different lines? The Nail Ninja profiled a great new OPI polish called Shim-Merry Chic (read about it here).

After looking at the pictures on The Nail Ninja, a few people suggested some products they thought looked similar - and they might have looked like the pictures, but they didn't look as much alike in person. But I had already been thinking about how similar Shim-Merry Chic looked to one of my favorite Lipglasses: Oh Baby!

No, they aren't exactly the same shade of bronze, but they are fairly close, and both have delicious multi-colored shimmer.

I wondered how close those shades were to my favorite eyeshadow, MAC Tempting. Notsomuch, but with a tiny tweak or two I made my own eyeshadow. I call it "Oh Shim-Merry Baby!" (because I'm a dork). I mixed Tempting with Honeylust and a dash of Coppering and got pretty close.

 

Here's a shot of Oh Baby! on the lips, where it doesn't look so similar at all, but that's because it's over my pink lips rather than a brown-based lipstick.

I'm wearing all of these kissing cousin products in the silly picture at the top. I kinda like it!

In which The Ninja fell in love with a brown polish...

Having had her formative makeup years in the 1980's, The Ninja usually steers clear of brown polishes. Is that tide turning? After embracing the grey trend of the past few years, it was easy to slide into one of The Ninja's favorite shades, taupe (see China Glaze Cords here). But BROWN???

The Ninja is ready to get past her past and move on! A recent trip to Ulta resulted in 3 brown shades going into the shopping bag (THREE!). The others are gorgeous, of course, or The Ninja wouldn't have grabbed them, but the flat-out highlight of the brown polishes from haul is OPI's Shim-Merry's Chic, from their Holiday '09 collection called "Holiday Wishes". 

Note: The Ninja also heartily approves of the purple ( from Holiday Wishes.
Pictures coming soon!

Shim-Merry Chic is a gorgeous melange of honeyed brown with an rusty-an-copper-opalescent pearl and glitter flake. It reminds The Ninja of: toffee, mulled cider, molten caramel. Its base is cool enough that The Ninja's cool, fair skin can handle it, and lively enough with those lovely flashes of copper, orange, and a bit of tiny green, blue & silver shimmer that it's never dull!

If this shade were:

• wood used to make a piece of furniture, The Ninja would buy it.
• found in colored contacts, The Ninja would pop 'em right in.
• a gemstone, The Ninja would have a honkin' huge ring, a necklace and earrings.
• a sweater, The Ninja would wear it over her black ninja suit when no one was looking.
• a leather couch, The Ninja would never get off of it!

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See the full collection swatched by:

Scrangie

Vampy Varnish

Polish or Perish

All Lacquered Up

 

OPI takes a trip to Wonderland

source for Burton pics







And VOILA!

Now in nail polish:

opi pics and info source

Off with Her Red! – A glowing, empowering hot red
The Red Queen: Cruel ruler of Underland, she cuts off the heads of those who disagree with her. She would rather be feared than loved.

Absolutely Alice - An absolutely amazing blue glitter
Alice Kingsley: Beautiful but slightly off-kilter, sees the world differently than most. In the Rabbit Hole, she seeks to write her own destiny.

Mad as a Hatter – A madly marvelous black-multi glitter
The Mad Hatter: Formerly the White Queen’s hatter. Now, he is part of the Underland Resistance and driven to madness by guilt.

Thanks So Muchness! - For this ”much-have” red shimmer
And lastly…; As if the tale was not adventurous enough, one more shade to color your own Underland over and over.

My polish matches on tips and toes. Now what?

This year, it seems to me, is about breaking out of nail polish ruts. What else can explain the upsurge in nail art, bright colors, and elaborate designs? Well, when you feel like you've hit the end of all that can be done, take the next step and match your polish to your... COMPUTER?

 

I'm Not Really A Waitress

That's right. Suzi Weiss-Fischmann of OPI has created a line of computers skins with Dell, or more accurately has lent 20 of her most popular colors to the Dell Design Studio. You can take your pick of those popular shades, or you can select from seasonal offerings. The shades available will occasionally be rotated depending on popularity. (I'm trying to get a hold of the full color line-up and will let you know if I am able to do so)

“Beautiful nails really are the ultimate accessory to any look,” said Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, OPI Executive Vice President & Artistic Director. “And now, with Dell laptops that coordinate with OPI Nail Lacquers, you can match your nails to your emails!” source 

According to the Press Release, "The OPI color options for Dell Mini, Inspiron and Studio laptops will be available in the Dell Design Studio at Dell.com first in the U.S. and later in other countries. Select OPI colors also will be available at many retailers."

The thing is: how are the computers? I have a Dell, and love it except the battery is TERRIBLE, it's prone to overheating, and it's got Vista installed. Oh, and my "2" key fell off. I'd rather have a functioning computer than a pretty one. If Dell can get both going, I'll be thrilled!

The pics on this post come courtesy of Dell's official Flickr site (here).

 

 Princesses Rule!


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Up Front & Personal

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Kyoto Pearl

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Holiday Glow

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Dear Santa

Scrangie swatched OPI Holiday '09 here - take a look!